M-18 oil leak

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pcjrusso

pcjrusso

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Aug 9, 2006
99
Oday 34 La Salle, Mi
Hi

Two weeks ago after motoring hard (2300-2500 rmp) for about 4 hours, I noticed oil seeping out of the engine rm door. I shut it down and let it cool for a while my dip stick was an 1" high over filled. The temp guage was also running hot. I sailed back to the marina of course with 15 knot wind on our nose.
Last weekend I wash the engine down with degreaser there was a lot of oil on the rear port side of the engine but I could not locate the leak. I went sailing motoring for about 30 minutes out and then in. I checked the engine and bilge and all was clean.

If I had added to much oil on the oil change could the engine have so sort of vent or something where the oil blew out?

Any Ideas?

Thanks in advance
Pat
 
R

Randy6414

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Jun 5, 2004
72
Catalina 27 Stone Harbor NJ
An inch over is a lot for any engine, let alone one as small as the M-18 Universal. You may be blowing oil out of your crankcase vent hose, or somewhere else, and it's then being slung around the engine while it's running.

When you checked the oil, was it foaming? If the crankshaft is touching the oil it will whip it into foam, which doesn't cool/lubricate the engine properly.

Also, was there any sign of water (coolant) in the engine? If a head gasket blew, you might have coolant in the crankcase mixed with the oil, plus the overheating/running hot that you described.

As a first step I'd change the oil, then add the proper amount, without overfilling. As I recall, the specified capacity is just under two quarts, but check the manual. It takes a long time for cold, fresh oil to get from the fill cap into the pan, so allow five minutes or so before checking. Wipe the engine block and compartment clean. Then I'd run the engine and carefully observe the temperature, and look for leaks. Shut down periodically and check the oil level to make sure it is not rising (due to a coolant/head gasket leak). Gradually increase engine speed & load while observing the temperature and watching for leaks. If all is normal the second time around it may have just been significantly overfilled with oil. If something is still amiss you may have a head gasket problem or something else wrong.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Randy
 
pcjrusso

pcjrusso

.
Aug 9, 2006
99
Oday 34 La Salle, Mi
Randy,
Thank You. That is what I am planning on doing this weekend if the weather holds out
 
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